diff --git a/src/Components/Components/ref/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.netcoreapp.cs b/src/Components/Components/ref/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.netcoreapp.cs
index 78334efc06..c2c58118bd 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/ref/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.netcoreapp.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/ref/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.netcoreapp.cs
@@ -107,6 +107,11 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
         protected virtual bool ShouldRender() { throw null; }
         protected void StateHasChanged() { }
     }
+    public partial class DefaultComponentActivator : Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.IComponentActivator
+    {
+        public DefaultComponentActivator() { }
+        public Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.IComponent CreateInstance(System.Type componentType) { throw null; }
+    }
     public abstract partial class Dispatcher
     {
         protected Dispatcher() { }
@@ -234,6 +239,10 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
         void Attach(Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.RenderHandle renderHandle);
         System.Threading.Tasks.Task SetParametersAsync(Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ParameterView parameters);
     }
+    public partial interface IComponentActivator
+    {
+        Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.IComponent CreateInstance(System.Type componentType);
+    }
     public partial interface IHandleAfterRender
     {
         System.Threading.Tasks.Task OnAfterRenderAsync();
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/src/ComponentFactory.cs b/src/Components/Components/src/ComponentFactory.cs
index 3ba141834b..eddb39a937 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/src/ComponentFactory.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/src/ComponentFactory.cs
@@ -6,14 +6,9 @@ using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Reflection;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Reflection;
-using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 
 namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
 {
-    /// <remarks>
-    /// The <see cref="Instance"/> property on this type is used as a static global cache. Ensure any changes to this type
-    /// are thread safe and can be safely cached statically.
-    /// </remarks>
     internal class ComponentFactory
     {
         private static readonly BindingFlags _injectablePropertyBindingFlags
@@ -22,19 +17,20 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
         private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<Type, Action<IServiceProvider, IComponent>> _cachedInitializers
             = new ConcurrentDictionary<Type, Action<IServiceProvider, IComponent>>();
 
-        public static readonly ComponentFactory Instance = new ComponentFactory();
+        private readonly IComponentActivator _componentActivator;
+
+        public ComponentFactory(IComponentActivator componentActivator)
+        {
+            _componentActivator = componentActivator ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(componentActivator));
+        }
 
         public IComponent InstantiateComponent(IServiceProvider serviceProvider, Type componentType)
         {
-            var activator = serviceProvider.GetService<IComponentActivator>();
-
-            var instance = activator != null
-                ? activator.CreateInstance(componentType)
-                : Activator.CreateInstance(componentType);
-
-            if (!(instance is IComponent component))
+            var component = _componentActivator.CreateInstance(componentType);
+            if (component is null)
             {
-                throw new ArgumentException($"The type {componentType.FullName} does not implement {nameof(IComponent)}.", nameof(componentType));
+                // The default activator will never do this, but an externally-supplied one might
+                throw new InvalidOperationException($"The component activator returned a null value for a component of type {componentType.FullName}.");
             }
 
             PerformPropertyInjection(serviceProvider, component);
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/src/DefaultComponentActivator.cs b/src/Components/Components/src/DefaultComponentActivator.cs
index 4f93188f2f..ac5f5b2fb7 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/src/DefaultComponentActivator.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/src/DefaultComponentActivator.cs
@@ -6,14 +6,25 @@ using System;
 namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
 {
     /// <summary>
-    /// Default implementation of component activator.
+    /// Default implementation of <see cref="IComponentActivator"/>.
     /// </summary>
     public class DefaultComponentActivator : IComponentActivator
     {
+        // If no IComponentActivator is supplied by DI, the renderer uses this instance.
+        // It's internal because in the future, we might want to add per-scope state and then
+        // it would no longer be applicable to have a shared instance.
+        internal static IComponentActivator Instance { get; } = new DefaultComponentActivator();
+
         /// <inheritdoc />
-        public IComponent? CreateInstance(Type componentType)
+        public IComponent CreateInstance(Type componentType)
         {
-            return Activator.CreateInstance(componentType) as IComponent;
+            var instance = Activator.CreateInstance(componentType);
+            if (!(instance is IComponent component))
+            {
+                throw new ArgumentException($"The type {componentType.FullName} does not implement {nameof(IComponent)}.", nameof(componentType));
+            }
+
+            return component;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/src/IComponentActivator.cs b/src/Components/Components/src/IComponentActivator.cs
index e98e111a05..9f97c38e9f 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/src/IComponentActivator.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/src/IComponentActivator.cs
@@ -7,14 +7,16 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
 {
     /// <summary>
     /// Represents an activator that can be used to instantiate components.
+    /// The activator is not responsible for dependency injection, since the framework
+    /// performs dependency injection to the resulting instances separately.
     /// </summary>
     public interface IComponentActivator
     {
         /// <summary>
-        /// Creates an component of the specified type using that type's default constructor.
+        /// Creates a component of the specified type.
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="componentType">The type of component to create.</param>
         /// <returns>A reference to the newly created component.</returns>
-        IComponent? CreateInstance(Type componentType);
+        IComponent CreateInstance(Type componentType);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/src/RenderTree/Renderer.cs b/src/Components/Components/src/RenderTree/Renderer.cs
index bb8bddcdc2..ca67d48f9b 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/src/RenderTree/Renderer.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/src/RenderTree/Renderer.cs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ using System.Threading;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Profiling;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Rendering;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 
 namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.RenderTree
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.RenderTree
         private readonly Dictionary<ulong, EventCallback> _eventBindings = new Dictionary<ulong, EventCallback>();
         private readonly Dictionary<ulong, ulong> _eventHandlerIdReplacements = new Dictionary<ulong, ulong>();
         private readonly ILogger<Renderer> _logger;
+        private readonly ComponentFactory _componentFactory;
 
         private int _nextComponentId = 0; // TODO: change to 'long' when Mono .NET->JS interop supports it
         private bool _isBatchInProgress;
@@ -70,6 +72,10 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.RenderTree
 
             _serviceProvider = serviceProvider;
             _logger = loggerFactory.CreateLogger<Renderer>();
+
+            var componentActivator = serviceProvider.GetService<IComponentActivator>()
+                ?? DefaultComponentActivator.Instance;
+            _componentFactory = new ComponentFactory(componentActivator);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -89,7 +95,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.RenderTree
         /// <param name="componentType">The type of the component to instantiate.</param>
         /// <returns>The component instance.</returns>
         protected IComponent InstantiateComponent(Type componentType)
-            => ComponentFactory.Instance.InstantiateComponent(_serviceProvider, componentType);
+            => _componentFactory.InstantiateComponent(_serviceProvider, componentType);
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Associates the <see cref="IComponent"/> with the <see cref="Renderer"/>, assigning
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/test/ComponentFactoryTest.cs b/src/Components/Components/test/ComponentFactoryTest.cs
index 662351bd6f..4fb0a34385 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/test/ComponentFactoryTest.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/test/ComponentFactoryTest.cs
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Text;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 using Xunit;
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
         {
             // Arrange
             var componentType = typeof(EmptyComponent);
-            var factory = new ComponentFactory();
+            var factory = new ComponentFactory(new DefaultComponentActivator());
 
             // Act
             var instance = factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProvider(), componentType);
@@ -28,44 +27,31 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
         }
 
         [Fact]
-        public void InstantiateComponent_CreatesInstance_WithActivator()
+        public void InstantiateComponent_CreatesInstance_NonComponent()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var componentType = typeof(List<string>);
+            var factory = new ComponentFactory(new DefaultComponentActivator());
+
+            // Assert
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(() => factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProvider(), componentType));
+            Assert.StartsWith($"The type {componentType.FullName} does not implement {nameof(IComponent)}.", ex.Message);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void InstantiateComponent_CreatesInstance_WithCustomActivator()
         {
             // Arrange
             var componentType = typeof(EmptyComponent);
-            var factory = new ComponentFactory();
-
-            // Act
-            var instance = factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProviderWithActivator(), componentType);
-
-            // Assert
-            Assert.NotNull(instance);
-            Assert.IsType<EmptyComponent>(instance);
-        }
-
-        [Fact]
-        public void InstantiateComponent_CreatesInstance_WithActivator_NonComponent()
-        {
-            // Arrange
-            var componentType = typeof(NonComponent);
-            var factory = new ComponentFactory();
-
-            // Assert
-            Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(()=>factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProviderWithActivator(), componentType));
-        }
-
-        [Fact]
-        public void InstantiateComponent_AssignsPropertiesWithInjectAttribute()
-        {
-            // Arrange
-            var componentType = typeof(ComponentWithInjectProperties);
-            var factory = new ComponentFactory();
+            var factory = new ComponentFactory(new CustomComponentActivator<ComponentWithInjectProperties>());
 
             // Act
             var instance = factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProvider(), componentType);
 
             // Assert
             Assert.NotNull(instance);
-            var component = Assert.IsType<ComponentWithInjectProperties>(instance);
+            var component = Assert.IsType<ComponentWithInjectProperties>(instance); // Custom activator returns a different type
+
             // Public, and non-public properties, and properties with non-public setters should get assigned
             Assert.NotNull(component.Property1);
             Assert.NotNull(component.GetProperty2());
@@ -73,12 +59,24 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
             Assert.NotNull(component.Property4);
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        public void InstantiateComponent_ThrowsForNullInstance()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var componentType = typeof(EmptyComponent);
+            var factory = new ComponentFactory(new NullResultComponentActivator());
+
+            // Act
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() => factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProvider(), componentType));
+            Assert.Equal($"The component activator returned a null value for a component of type {componentType.FullName}.", ex.Message);
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         public void InstantiateComponent_AssignsPropertiesWithInjectAttributeOnBaseType()
         {
             // Arrange
             var componentType = typeof(DerivedComponent);
-            var factory = new ComponentFactory();
+            var factory = new ComponentFactory(new CustomComponentActivator<DerivedComponent>());
 
             // Act
             var instance = factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProvider(), componentType);
@@ -101,7 +99,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
         {
             // Arrange
             var componentType = typeof(ComponentWithNonInjectableProperties);
-            var factory = new ComponentFactory();
+            var factory = new ComponentFactory(new DefaultComponentActivator());
 
             // Act
             var instance = factory.InstantiateComponent(GetServiceProvider(), componentType);
@@ -122,15 +120,6 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
                 .BuildServiceProvider();
         }
 
-        private static IServiceProvider GetServiceProviderWithActivator()
-        {
-            return new ServiceCollection()
-                .AddTransient<TestService1>()
-                .AddTransient<TestService2>()
-                .AddSingleton<IComponentActivator, DefaultComponentActivator>()
-                .BuildServiceProvider();
-        }
-
         private class EmptyComponent : IComponent
         {
             public void Attach(RenderHandle renderHandle)
@@ -197,9 +186,23 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
             public TestService2 Property5 { get; set; }
         }
 
-        private class NonComponent { }
-
         public class TestService1 { }
         public class TestService2 { }
+
+        private class CustomComponentActivator<TResult> : IComponentActivator where TResult : IComponent, new()
+        {
+            public IComponent CreateInstance(Type componentType)
+            {
+                return new TResult();
+            }
+        }
+
+        private class NullResultComponentActivator : IComponentActivator
+        {
+            public IComponent CreateInstance(Type componentType)
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/test/DependencyInjectionTest.cs b/src/Components/Components/test/DependencyInjectionTest.cs
index 2a77c75325..54e5e948ad 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/test/DependencyInjectionTest.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/test/DependencyInjectionTest.cs
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Test
         }
 
         private T InstantiateComponent<T>() where T: IComponent
-            => _renderer.InstantiateComponent<T>();
+            => (T)_renderer.InstantiateComponent<T>();
 
         class HasPropertiesWithoutInjectAttribute : TestComponent
         {
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/test/OwningComponentBaseTest.cs b/src/Components/Components/test/OwningComponentBaseTest.cs
index 155231b40b..2ece32bf97 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/test/OwningComponentBaseTest.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/test/OwningComponentBaseTest.cs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components
 
             var counter = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<Counter>();
             var renderer = new TestRenderer(serviceProvider);
-            var component1 = renderer.InstantiateComponent<MyOwningComponent>();
+            var component1 = (MyOwningComponent)renderer.InstantiateComponent<MyOwningComponent>();
 
             Assert.NotNull(component1.MyService);
             Assert.Equal(1, counter.CreatedCount);
diff --git a/src/Components/Components/test/RendererTest.cs b/src/Components/Components/test/RendererTest.cs
index 5ecddb3ed6..2afaf99650 100644
--- a/src/Components/Components/test/RendererTest.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Components/test/RendererTest.cs
@@ -3733,6 +3733,35 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Test
             Assert.Equal($"The {nameof(ParameterView)} instance can no longer be read because it has expired. {nameof(ParameterView)} can only be read synchronously and must not be stored for later use.", ex.Message);
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        public void CanUseCustomComponentActivator()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var serviceProvider = new TestServiceProvider();
+            var componentActivator = new TestComponentActivator<MessageComponent>();
+            serviceProvider.AddService<IComponentActivator>(componentActivator);
+            var renderer = new TestRenderer(serviceProvider);
+
+            // Act: Ask for TestComponent
+            var suppliedComponent = renderer.InstantiateComponent<TestComponent>();
+
+            // Assert: We actually receive MessageComponent
+            Assert.IsType<MessageComponent>(suppliedComponent);
+            Assert.Collection(componentActivator.RequestedComponentTypes,
+                requestedType => Assert.Equal(typeof(TestComponent), requestedType));
+        }
+
+        private class TestComponentActivator<TResult> : IComponentActivator where TResult: IComponent, new()
+        {
+            public List<Type> RequestedComponentTypes { get; } = new List<Type>();
+
+            public IComponent CreateInstance(Type componentType)
+            {
+                RequestedComponentTypes.Add(componentType);
+                return new TResult();
+            }
+        }
+
         private class NoOpRenderer : Renderer
         {
             public NoOpRenderer() : base(new TestServiceProvider(), NullLoggerFactory.Instance)
diff --git a/src/Components/Server/src/DependencyInjection/ComponentServiceCollectionExtensions.cs b/src/Components/Server/src/DependencyInjection/ComponentServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
index b8e66a4e5e..cd65b7fdc4 100644
--- a/src/Components/Server/src/DependencyInjection/ComponentServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Server/src/DependencyInjection/ComponentServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
@@ -74,7 +74,6 @@ namespace Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection
             services.AddScoped<IJSRuntime, RemoteJSRuntime>();
             services.AddScoped<INavigationInterception, RemoteNavigationInterception>();
             services.AddScoped<AuthenticationStateProvider, ServerAuthenticationStateProvider>();
-            services.AddScoped<IComponentActivator, DefaultComponentActivator>();
 
             services.TryAddEnumerable(ServiceDescriptor.Singleton<IConfigureOptions<CircuitOptions>, CircuitOptionsJSInteropDetailedErrorsConfiguration>());
 
diff --git a/src/Components/Shared/test/TestRenderer.cs b/src/Components/Shared/test/TestRenderer.cs
index b44cdf479b..346ae4a417 100644
--- a/src/Components/Shared/test/TestRenderer.cs
+++ b/src/Components/Shared/test/TestRenderer.cs
@@ -88,8 +88,8 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Test.Helpers
             return task;
         }
 
-        public T InstantiateComponent<T>() where T : IComponent
-            => (T)InstantiateComponent(typeof(T));
+        public IComponent InstantiateComponent<T>()
+            => InstantiateComponent(typeof(T));
 
         protected override void HandleException(Exception exception)
         {
diff --git a/src/Mvc/Mvc.ViewFeatures/src/DependencyInjection/MvcViewFeaturesMvcCoreBuilderExtensions.cs b/src/Mvc/Mvc.ViewFeatures/src/DependencyInjection/MvcViewFeaturesMvcCoreBuilderExtensions.cs
index 34b57eb374..84ffe50ce1 100644
--- a/src/Mvc/Mvc.ViewFeatures/src/DependencyInjection/MvcViewFeaturesMvcCoreBuilderExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Mvc/Mvc.ViewFeatures/src/DependencyInjection/MvcViewFeaturesMvcCoreBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -212,13 +212,12 @@ namespace Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection
             services.TryAddScoped<NavigationManager, HttpNavigationManager>();
             services.TryAddScoped<IJSRuntime, UnsupportedJavaScriptRuntime>();
             services.TryAddScoped<INavigationInterception, UnsupportedNavigationInterception>();
-            
+
             services.TryAddTransient<ControllerSaveTempDataPropertyFilter>();
 
             // This does caching so it should stay singleton
             services.TryAddSingleton<ITempDataProvider, CookieTempDataProvider>();
             services.TryAddSingleton<TempDataSerializer, DefaultTempDataSerializer>();
-            services.TryAddSingleton<IComponentActivator, DefaultComponentActivator>();
 
             //
             // Antiforgery